Waverley

Yesterday I visited Waverley Mansion, a one-time plantation built in 1852 and now listed as a national historic landmark. It's a 15-minute drive east of West Point, and you have to go down a dirt road for a while to get to it. I also was only one of two people there yesterday, so things got slightly creepy. There's apparently some local legend about "Little Girl Lost," the ghost of a girl who died at the house. I didn't run into her while I was there, though there were some peacocks out back who made me jump.

kudzu and other creepy things

Kudzu is an invasive vine that's taking over the South. It climbs up trees and other vegetation and has even been known to take over houses and cars. Here it is in Columbus, along with some other viney things.

photo leftovers

Some shots from an early morning drive to Columbus:

Some random shots from around town. The first two establishments are in downtown Starkville and are right next door to one another.

These are from last night's Homecoming game. The highlight of the evening was during halftime, when the entire homecoming court (maids, queen, Mr. and Miss MSU) was brought onto the field, escorted by fathers and other family members. I was too far away to get any decent photos, but it was pretty spectacular. The queen wore a really long maroon cape and was crowned in front of the crowd with a rhinestone tiara.

And, finally, I captured some pretty impressive bovine maneuvering while out on Oktoc Road. This was very entertaining to watch in person.

fall colors at Noxubee Refuge

it's cotton time

trip to Macon

Macon is about 40 minutes southeast of Starkville. The city served as Mississippi's capital during the Civil War, so it has tons of beautiful old churches and houses. Yes, that is indeed a tractor going down Main Street.

On the way down there, I stopped in a famous Mennonite bakery in Brooksville and got some bread and pecan pie. The BBQ place next door unfortunately wasn't open, or I definitely would have partaken in some fried green tomatoes.